If you’ve been juicing for a while, you’re very familiar with cucumber juice. After all, it’s a juicing essential that most of us are very reliant on. And it’s little wonder why – the crunchy, refreshing cucumber blends beautifully into juice recipes, lending their hydrating, mineral-rich water content to any juice recipe you add it to.

And it’s one juicing ingredient you never have to feel guilty about juicing too much of ’cause the classic cucumber has a whole lot going for it…

7 Cool Cucumber Juice Benefits

Did you know that the phrase “cool as a cucumber” is thought to have come from early English doctors who instructed their patients to put whole cucumbers under their pillows and mattresses to prevent the onset of fever and similar maladies?

Keeps you super hydrated

Akin to watermelons, cucumbers have very high water content and can easily help maintain ideal hydration levels in sweltering weather or very hot environments (or just after an incredibly sweaty workout). They also contain phytochemicals that help prevent chapped lips and dry eyes. Nomadic tribes like the Bedouins prize the cucumber as an essential during long journeys in the desert.

Great for your skin, hair and nails

Cucumbers are loaded with essential minerals and vitamins like silica, potassium, magnesium, manganese, Vitamin C and K, that help keep the skin supple and hydrated and provide a boost of nutrition for your hair and nails.

The thing is, though, the majority of these nutrients are found in the cucumber’s peel so try to get these organic so you can juice them with the peels on!

Boosts the immune system

Cucumbers contain a good amount of vitamin C, which helps make it more resilient to various illnesses as well as speed up the healing of damaged tissues and cells. It’s also been shown to contains flavonoids and tannins, both of which are compounds that are especially effective at fighting free radical damage.

Protects against kidney stones

Did you know that the humble cucumber is one of the best kidney cleansers in town? Yup, there are antioxidants in cucumbers that dissipate the formation of plaque and unwanted minerals in the kidneys that can eventually develop into kidney stones.

Aids weight loss

You already suspected this, of course. After all, foods with high water content and low calorie content is already linked to significant weight loss outcomes.

And cucumber totally fits the bill.

With only 47 calories per cucumber and extremely low sugar content, the cucumber is a great ingredient to add to all your juice recipes when you’re juicing for weight loss!

Fights bad cholesterol

Cucumbers contain phytochemicals and plant sterols that help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels or bad cholesterol in the body. It’s not just cholesterol, either – these phytochemicals and plant sterols work hand in hand with silica, another component found in cucumbers, to keep joint problems like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in check.

Helpful for diabetes

Juicing for diabetes? Stock up on the cucumber. Several studies have found that cucumbers can help reduce and control blood sugar levels as well as prevent (and even reverse) some of the health complications caused by diabetes.

Again, though, many of these benefits come from the cucumber’s peel so juice the peels!

5 Delicious Cucumber Juice Recipes

A cucumber or two goes a long way in making any juice recipe palatable, even when you’re juicing the most hardcore of leafy greens. And that’s what really makes cucumber a juicing essential, in our book – it’s an awesome add-on to any juice recipe, helping to tone things down while adding a heap of nutrients to the mix.

Ready to get sipping on this cool veggie? Here’s a collection of yummy cucumber juice recipes!

Beet the Hangover Cucumber Juice

When you’re nursing a hangover, the last thing you want to do is whip up a complicated juice recipe. So here’s a super simple hangover juice cure:

2 grapefruits (peeled)

1 large beetroot (beet greens can be left on)

2 cucumbers

This is the perfect juice recipe to cleanse your system of a night of overdrinking – beets help the detoxification process with an antioxidant called betalains which repair and regenerate liver cells. Since the liver is the detox-center of the body, it can definitely use a boost after a toxic night.

As for cucumbers – just like the banana, cucumbers also contain a hefty amount of electrolytes. So sipping on cucumber juice after a night’s drinking can significantly ease the discomfort of a hangover.

Green Glow Cucumber Juice

Here’s a smooth, delicious cucumber juice recipe that is a great green juice for beginners and bursting with nutrition:

6 large kale leaves

1/2 medium pineapple

1 carrot

1 cucumber

2 apples

Both carrots and kale are incredibly high in Vitamin A, one of the most important nutrients for fighting acne. Kale leaves are also bursting with chlorophyll – one of the best things you can supply with your body with for anything, at any time…

Now add to the mix yummy pineapple with its high bromelain content (amazing digestive aid and effective anti-inflammatory) and mineral-rich cucumber and you’ve got yourself one delicious skin care juice.

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